Sorry for the unannounced hiatus! I realize that I haven’t posted in about two months, but hopefully everyone hasn’t given up on me yet! So much has happened since October, so here’s a brief (and random) overview:

Destruction in Italy

Here I am in Cinque Terre in 2007

Shortly after my last post, a massive weather system hit Cinque Terre in Italy and caused a lot of mudslides that basically destroyed one of the largest towns in the area, Vernazza. If you know me and/or have ever heard me talk about my experiences studying abroad in Italia, then you know that I was very partial to this area of the country. It is a beautiful five-town chain along the northern coast that, while offering services for tourists, hasn’t been spoiled by over crowding of foreigners. How it is literally buried under about 8-10 feet of mud. They’ve been slowing digging out since then, but it’s really awful. You can see updates on the progress here, and there is also a trustworthy donation site in case you want to help.

Hunger Games movie!

If you follow my Twitter updates or Goodreads, then you know that I L-O-V-E the Hunger Games series. Definitely top 3 for me.

Well they announced earlier this year that they would be making a movie and throughout the year have announced one-by-one who would play each character. I was a little put-off when they announced that Jennifer Lawrence would play the lead, Katniss. But I went ahead and rented Winter’s Bone to see how good of an actress she was and I was definitely impressed. Hopefully she can pull this off! Check out more info on the movie or watch the super awesome trailer.

Work fun

One of the most fun things at work is when I get to collect letters to Santa from local elementary schools. Louisiana kids are definitely different than the group I grew up with – so many asked for guns and I was the only person in the office shocked at that!

This year, I got to do a similar activity for Thanksgiving. We asked kindergarten and 1st grade kids to write down what their favorite Thanksgiving food is and how it is made. Best response:

“I like turkey but it was fast…and the turkey ran away. He ran up the tree and he falls so he could get dead and we could cook him. Now we know it was an avatar”

Did not see that twist coming lol.

Eratic weather

SNOW in Abq!

The temperatures in New Orleans over the last few months have been totally ridiculous. One day the high/low is 60/39 and the very next day it could be 82/68. Not a fan of the warm winter weather – at all. But I did get to experience a real winter for once this year. I visited Rebecca in Albuquerque again and this time got snow all four days that I was there!

I made snow angels, took pictures of “yellow” snow and attempted to build a snoman! I also got to see the River of Lights Christmas display at their botanical garden!

[And to add a little extra excitement to the trip, Southwest was nice enough to cancel my 6 a.m. flight there at 4 a.m. on the day I was supposed to leave. Got to wake up to a nice email saying “Sorry, no flight for you.” But at least they worked it out fairly hassle-free and I still caught my connection!]

I hate John Brantley.

I hate John Brantley and blame him for the last two years. And that’s all I have to say about that.

It’s Christmaaas!!

So now I’m back in Nola for the holidays and wondering if I will ever get a Christmas bonus this year. I’m glad that I got most of my shopping out of the way early but this month (and next month) is going to be rough if my boss decides not to give out the $ this year. 😦